Please, it was only a joke

Are Indians unable to look at anything with a sense of humour? That’s the debate in the wake of the police complaint filed against actor Akshay Kumar for letting his wife Twinkle unbutton his jeans at a Lakmé Fashion Week show.

Are Indians unable to look at anything with a sense of humour? That’s the debate in the wake of the police complaint filed against actor Akshay Kumar for letting his wife Twinkle unbutton his jeans at a Lakmé Fashion Week show.

“I didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s sentiment at all, but if I unintentionally have, then I am sorry,” Akshay has said after social activist Anil Nair lodged a complaint in Mumbai’s Vakola police station. “Several mothers” had urged him to do something about the “obscene” act, he said. The police are investigating to see if the case will stand in court.

In the show sponsored by Levi’s, Akshay walked the runway for Tarun Tahiliani. Just before the end, he walked over to his wife and had his jeans unbuttoned by her. The obvious reference was to the Levi’s ad featuring Akki where a model is unbuttoning his jeans. Tahiliani told HT City that Akshay had been apprehensive about this and had asked him to convince Twinkle to play along.

“It was just a gimmick,” says ad man Prahlad Kakkar. “The man who has filed this case has nothing better to do. This just shows a lack of humour in our country.” Director Mahesh Bhatt says, “We have had sexual acts carved on a temple for centuries, so why be outraged at the sight of a woman undoing only the top button of her husband’s jeans?”

The scene, aired on a TV channel for a whole day, did make some people cringe. Designer Mandira Wirk says, “My reaction was, ‘So cheap’. A sweet kiss or a hug would have been better.” But she can’t see why Nair went to the police. Reema Dhingra, a luxury store manager, also believes, “The act was not in good taste, but the case is nonsensical.”

Got some free time, so let’s file a caseActor Richard Gere faced obscenity charges for publicly kissing Shilpa Shetty at an AIDS campaign function in 2007.

Cricketer Harbhajan Singh and TV actress Mona Singh were charged with hurting religious sentiments with their ‘Ravan and Sita’ performance on a dance reality show in 2008.

Actress Mallika Sherawat faced obscenity charges due to her performance at the JW Marriott hotel, Mumbai, at a New Year’s Eve function as she took the stage in a skin-coloured jumpsuit with a silver bikini worn over it.